MORE than 50 dangerous pavements have been highlighted after a Crewe pensioners' group claimed they are so bad they are making elderly residents feel like prisoners in their own homes.

Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council identified 52 of the most precarious pavements in the area in a fact-finding mission.

Members of the Crewe and District branch of the Northern Pensioners' Association are demanding Cheshire County Council takes action to solve the problem before any more elderly residents injure themselves.

Branch chairlady Leah Stevenson, 85, who has fallen five times on un-even pavements in recent months, said: 'We're glad the borough council is trying to do something about these pavements, because it's making life a nightmare for older people.

'It's very difficult trying to get around in town and you can't even look where you're going because you have to keep your eyes on the ground in front of you in case you trip over the flags.

'The Pensioners' Association is hoping the county council will start to take notice.'

Mrs Stevenson, of Elm Drive, Crewe, said in her last fall, just yards from her home, she injured her leg so badly doctors fear it will not fully recover.

She added: 'We want something done about this before somebody really hurts themselves.'

Borough councillor for the environment, John Hammond, said he hoped the county council would be shamed into taking action.

'We want to see an improvement in the state of roads and pavements in the borough.

'There have been a number of nasty incidents recently where elderly residents have been injured by tripping on an uneven pavement, and it's frustrating for us as a council that the responsibility for keeping them in good repair is not ours.

'I hope the sheer volume of incidents will persuade them something needs to be done about it now.'

But a county council spokesman said it did not need the help of the borough council in identifying dangerous pavements.

The spokesman added: 'We are responsible for approximately 3,841 kilometres of pavements across Cheshire, and we already have our own very successful fault-reporting systems.' ..SUPL: